Carlton Smith throws hat into Assembly race

After a quiet week in election filings Carlton Smith has filed for the Areawide Assembly seat.

Last Friday’s opener saw five filings between three Assembly seats and two school board seats and no filings since — until Friday.

Smith is the owner of Carlton Smith Company, which sells and acquires commercial property.

In a release prepared by Smith, he believes his long-term involvement in private and charitable organizations makes him a good candidate for Assembly. He is running because he “has the time, energy and experience to make positive contributions” to the community.

“I’ve served on numerous local boards here in Juneau, statewide boards and national boards,” Smith said. “That’s the experience I want to bring to the Assembly. Both my kids are just now completing their school age years in Juneau. I want to basically reflect on that and hopefully make this a better place if they choose to stay in Juneau.”

Smith’s volunteer and business involvement has included being a trustee for the SEARHC Foundation and Alaska Mental Health Trust, member of Boy Scouts of America Southeast Regional Council and state chairman of the Alaska Salvation Army. He also was the director of Sealaska Heritage Foundation and served as an officer with the corporation.

Smith said the Assembly has a “full plate” of issues right now and he’s interested in working on many of them.

“The No. 1 issue I see out there is maintain the current employment level we have right now and then grow,” he said. “My other two concerns, we’ve got almost a steady curve upward of the cost of living in Juneau. It’s moving the wrong direction at the wrong time. I’d like to be a part of a structured dialogue to keep those costs down. Finally, I’d like to secure and maintain Juneau as the capital city. We’ve got to continue to be vigilant at maintaining those jobs here in Juneau.”

Smith’s filing for the Areawide seat makes for three candidates vying for the seat.

The seat was filled by Assemblyman Bob Doll, who resigned to move to Washington to be closer to his grandchildren. The seat is being filled through the rest of Doll’s term by Assemblyman Peter Freer.

Filings for the seat include Loren Jones, who has served several terms on the Bartlett Regional Hospital Board, and Geny Del Rosario, a local business woman who serves on the Juneau Human Rights Commission.

So far all Assembly seats have at least one candidate, but District 1 and District 2 currently only have one contender each. In District 1 local legislative aide Jesse Kiehl is aiming for Merrill Sanford’s seat. Sanford is terming out and can’t file again for one full year. Randy Wanamaker is back after terming out himself. He’s filed for the District 2 seat that Assemblyman Jonathan Anderson resigned from, now being filled by Assemblyman Malcolm Menzies.

Two school board seats are up, including that of incumbent Sally Saddler. Saddler has filed for re-election and no other candidates have filed.